May 4th, 2010 HOMEWORK: Chapters1 through 6 SUMMARY:
For the first 2 Chapters Greg Mortenson takes us through the harsh terrain and extreme measures he goes through while trying to climb K2. We learn about his Minnesota born prents who were Lutheran missionairies and teachers. Greg Mortenson had a younger sister, who he was 12 years senior to and her name was Christa. Unfortunatley, Christa contracted acute meningitis and never fully revovered. As her older brother Greg protected her, helped her preform simple tasks, and tried to give her an ounce of independence. Greg Mortenson lived a busy life of aiding others, he was a U.S. Army medic/plantoon leader in Germany, was striving for a nursing degree, studied the neurophysiology of epilepsy at graduate school to find a cure for Christa, or climbing mountains. When Christa died of a massive seizure he took his sister's necklace and he wanted to bring it to the top of K2 (28, 267 feet). On his climb unfortunatley he had to help a climber that fell ill, and take him back down the mountain to safety this put a damper on his palns and he was to tired to climb back up the mountain. When loosing his sense of direction while trying to make his way down the mountain he ended up in the village of Korphe. He promised to the gracious people "I will build you a school" by the end of Chapter 3. In Chapter 4 Mortenson is making his way back to Berkely California imagining the endless possibilities of how he is goign to raise money for the school. We learn more of his parents, how they fell in love, what they were like in school, there travels, interests and you can clearly see how similiar he is to his parents. Greg continued to work as a nurse like before and he met a women Marina whom he started dating. He returned to Pakistan and started creating "miracles".
May 4th, 2010 HOMEWORK: Chapters 7 and 8 SUMMARY:
Greg Mortenson stuck to his guns when he went back to America, made a plan and budgeted himself in order to get the tools for the school. Though he was worried about how slowly their progress was because it took all day for the gear, tools, and supplies to get loaded into the truck. A mob of people surronded Greg Mortenson and his truck, but even with the hustle and bustle Abdul who has been helping Mortenson takes the time to give him a safe journey prayer. Greg Mortenson sets out from Rawalpindi to Skardu. Mortenson feels sucessful about what he has accomplished thus far, but is concerned about the rest of the work to be done and the money he is going to use. Though most of the time Mortenson doesn't feel in danger while in Pakistan, he still knows that there is a threat out there. The next day when the truck is still proceedeing to Skardu he and his truck drivier are stopped in the night by a local gunmen and the Pakistan army. Mortenson arrives at the village feeling that success is ahead. He realizes though that he is going to have to keep his supplies in Skardu until he can make transportation means to Korphe. Mortenson finds himself the center of a dispute when villagers are not wanting the school to be built in Korphe but where he is now, and there are two very different ideas about the school, how it should be built and what it should entail. The dispute through the night while enjoying a meal "feast" that was supposed to impress Mortenson. Mortenson is unhappy with the way Changzai is treating him. Changzai is campaigning for a school when Mortenson already promised a school to the villagers in Korphe. Mortenson is stunned when he arrives in Korphe and given the task to build a bridge before he can construct the school. He has to do this before he can continue or they wont transport the supplies he worked hard for.
May 4th, 2010 HOMEOWRK: Chapters 7 and 8 PASSAGE MASTER: " As Mortenson climbed down to bid Abdul goodbye the crowd pressed in on him, offering him cigarettes and handfuls of bettered rupee notes for his school.... Despite the noise and frenzy, Abdul stood perfectly still at the center of the crowd, performing a dua, a prayer for a safe journey." (PAGE 73)
I choose this passage because it showed the appreciation that other individuals had for Greg Mortenson who were just able to play a small part in the building of the school. They were wishing him well and hoped he was successful.
" It was cool and windy on top of the truck," Mortenson remembers. "And I hadn't been cool since I arrived in Rawalpindi. I felt like a king, riding high on my throne. And I felt I'd already succeeded. I was sitting on top of my school. OI'd bought everything we needed and stuck to my budget. Not eve Jean Hoerni could fin dfalut with anything I'd done. And in a few weeks, I thought, the school would be built, and I could head home and figure out what to do with the rest of my life. I don't know if I've ever felt so satisfied." (PAGE 74)
I choose this passage because we start to see a sense of pride, success, determenation in Greg Mortenson, and he knows that he is going to do more great things. Building this school is just one chapter in his life, and he is already lookign forward to the next great thing he will do. He made goals, plans, and a budget stuck to it and now is getting tremendous results. This links into our essential question showing us that Greg Mortenson is the individual making great history. He made plans then went back to Berkely, California in the states to execute them, and now he is back in Pakistan building a school like he promised.
" A decade later, in the post 9/11 era, Mortenson would often be asked by Americans about the danger he faced in the reigion from terrorits." " If I died in Pakistan, it'll be because of a traffic accident, not a bomb or bullet," he'd alays tell them. "The real danger over there is on the road." (PAGE 81)
I choose this passage because it made me feel humbled by Mortenson. He wasn't living by any other stero type people may put on the whole country of Pakistan because of events taht may have happened in the past. He is going by fact of what he knows, by learning the culture, and experienceing it first hand. He has met the children, the mothers, the fathers, and the grateful people and is being realistic to who they are. They aren't bad people, and you could say that about any country that may be pegged as having terrorists come out of it.
May 6th, 2010 HOMEWORK: Chapters 9 and 10 SUMMARY:
Mortenson had run into a speed bump in the village, and then returned to San Fransico hoping to return to his loved ones, but most of all Marina. It came to a dissapointment when Marina gave him disheartening news; she had been dating Mario from the ER, and booked Greg Mortenson a hotel room. With that Mortenson is fired from his job because he was supposed to work Thanksgiving but he missed not only Thanksgiving by Christmas. Before Mortenson left Korphe he was determined that he needed to learn everything that went into the bridge. Back in the states Mortenson is really upset over Marina, unlike any other break up he has experienced. Mortenson only has 83 dollars in his bank account, and is running out of options. He finds a job that he thinks is quite depressing. Mortenson is mugged on the streets where he only has 2 dollars, the kids laugh at how poor he is, leaving Mortenson feeling ashamed. He absolutley has to raise money for the bridge but doesn't know how, and is to intimidated to call Jean Hoerni. Luckliy he recieves an unexpected phone call from a fellow, and legendary climber Dr. Louis Reichardt who is one of the first Americans to reach the summit of K2. He asks for advice about the mountain climb. Reichardt had heard about Mortenson's school project and asks him how it is turning out. Mortenson informs him of the situation he is in, and feels another sense of failure within himself. Reichardt informs Mortenson that he is attempitng something far more difficult than climbing a mountain. Dr. Louis Reichardt encourages Mortenson to call Hoerni because he can afford the bridge. Mortenson then feels another sense of self confidence, and calls Hoerni. After Mortenson pucked up the courage to make the phone call to Hoerni he recieved an additional 100,000 dollars to his job. Mortenson returns back to PAkistan and despite their rough history hires Changazi because his skills are just to precious not to have. Through the process of carrying the supplies to where needed, Mortenson learns about Changazi's many sexual partners, which leads Mortenson to learning about the culture in Pakistan when it comes to sex from Twaha. Twaha is not married but sometimes has sex with widowed women in the village. The weather is uncooperative with Mortenson and teh rainy season sets in, and makes the team have to wait to pour concrete for the bridge. All the men embark on a hunting trip, Housessin the most intelligent man in the village slaughters an animal leaving Mortenson with the idea that he should be a teacher in the school. The weather lightens up, and the bridge work starts up. Mortenson is supervising and is pleased with himself and the Balti people. We run into George McCown, who is wealthy and a notable climber. Mortenson will find support from him, and the American party that came to help with the bridge. At the end of the chapter the bridge is completed.
May 6th, 2010: Chapters 9 and 10 PASSAGE MASTER: " Telling me all about the pricing of roof materials, and, oh, how much it cost to rent a truck to Skardu. They were very romantic. You never said anything about us, except to keep pushing back the date you'd be home..... I could tell from your postcards that I didn't exist for you once you left." (PAGE 100-101)
I choose this passage because it showed how dedicated Mortenson was to his work, and that once he started a project he really got consumed in it, and the people he was trying to help.
" Some merciful nights, Mortenson was able to lose himself and his worries in the whirl of activity. Confronted with teh immediate needs of a fiver-year-old child with third-degree burns across half her torso, it was impossibel to wallow in self-pity. And there was a deep satisfaction he could find in working swiftly, and alleviating pain, in a well equipped WEstern hospital, where every medication, machine, and dressing necessary was on hand, rather than eight hours away down a frequently impassable jeep track, as had been the case during the sevens weeks he'd lingered in Korphe. " (PAGE 102)
I choose thsi passage because I felt that is said alot about Mortenson's character. It tied into our essential question I thought because the history Mortenson is experiencing is causing him to change his views, and think differently. He is becomeing a true worthy, selfless, driven human being.
" But now, every time he opend his mouth, his stories were about failures: a summit not reached, a woman lost, a bridge, and a school, not built. One night, walking home very late after work, Mortenson was mugged across the street from his house by four boys who couldn't have been older than fourteen. While one held a pistol aimed shakily at Mortenson's chest, his accomplice emptied Mortenson's pockets. " Sheeyit. Bitch ain't got but two dollars," the boy said, pocketing the bills and handing Mortenson back his empty wallet. " Why we got to jumpt the most broke- down white dude in Berkeley?" Broke. Broke down. Broken. Into the spring, Mortenson wallowed in his depression. He pictured the hopeful faces of the Korphe men when they'd put him on a bus to Islamabad, sure, Inshallah, that he'd be back soon with money. How could they have so much faith in him when he had so little in himself."
(PAGE 105)
I choose this passage because I really just liked the way it was written. I thought the story was a perfect addition to give you a sense of the failure that Mortenson was feeling. The lowest of the low.
" Consequently, Changazi had protein bars with German labels tucked into every crevice of his office, like a squirrel's winter hoard of nuts. And behind his desk, a case of a Japnese sports drink called Pakhari SWeat propped up half a dozen bozes of biscotti."
I choose this passage because I found humor in it, and was surprised.
May 7th, 2010 Chapters 11 and 12 and 13 SUMMARY:
" Mortenson felt something that had been in short supply ever since that evening he'd dropped the bottle of Baileys liqueur into the trash can at the Beach Motel - happiness." Mortenson found a job in a hospital at a nurses station. He spent his night attending to a 12 year old boy whose stepfather pressed his hands to a stove. Mortenson realized that he didn't need to travel to the other side of the world to feel useful. He was helping out whoever he could in the states. He had a lot of quiet nights at the hospital, but each shift just meant that he could put more money in his account and soon return to Korphe and resume construction for the school. He was again living in his rented room at Witold Dudzinski, a small room. Mortenson bumps into Marina when walking home from his shift, and she tells him that Mario was a big mistake and that she misses Mortenson. Mortenson later goes off to Seattle to get in contact with Jean Hoerni where they finally meet in person. Hoerni is so excited about the project that Mortenson has been working on. Hoerni and McCown work wonders for Mortenson when they all meet together. They both agree to fund Mortenson financially by aiding him with 20,000 dollars, and they also invite Mortenson to American Himalayan Foundation dinner where Mortenson's hero Sir Edmund Hero will be the guest speaker. At the dinner Morteson is inspired by Hillary's own means to create schools and clinics and Nepal. Mortenson meets Tara Bishop who Mortenson feels an immediate attraction with, and they spend a night together conversing about their lives. Six days later, Mortenson and Bishop marry at the Oakland City Hall. Mortenson spends two weeks with Tara by post poning his trip to Korphe. He then boards a plane. Mortenson arrives at Skardu unable to get in contact with Changazi because he has gone on a trip to Pindi and will be back in one to two months. They ask Mortenson to come back then, he is unsure. An older man by the name of Parvi was an accountant. and obtained a business degree from University of Karachi. Parvi was going to help Mortenson locate his materials. They found the materials in a abandoned hotel, 1/3 of the materials are missing, but Mortenson has enough to bring to Korphe thankfully. He expects that prepartions should be rather far along, however he is dissappointed to find that he is nowhere near where he wants to be. Mortenson arrives back to America to spend Thanksgiving with Tara and Hoerni. Hoerni has been so exicted about the project Mortenson is working on that he decides that he wants to create Central Asia Insitute and wants Mortenson to be the director. The goal of the foundation is to build a school every year. While back in the states Mortenson learns that Tara is pregnant. The family moves to Bozeman, Montana so Tara can be close to family. In Korphe, Mortenson is not happy with how fast production is going on the school. Haji informs in that Mortenson must learn to live by the pace of the Balti people for things to get done, and that his Western impatience is driving everyone crazy. Everyone is so extatic that the children of the village will be getting a finer education.
May 7th, 2010 Chapters 11 and 12, and 13 CONNECTOR: http://www.freedomwritersfoundation.org/site/c.kqIXL2PFJtH/b.5183373/k.DD8B/FWF_Home.htm
Freedom Writers Foundation is one similar to the CAI. "It's time to publicly and systematically promote an educational philosophy that honors diversity in the classroom. It's time to give students the opportunity to reach their full potential and aspire to higher education. It's time to remind them that they can deeply impact their communities and the world. The Freedom Writers Foundation believes the time has come. And by empowering students and teachers alike through outreach, curriculum, and scholarships, the time is now."
May 8th, 2010 Chapters 14 and 15 SUMMARY:
Mortenson is back in his home in Bozema, Montana. He is proud of the home and family he has created. He is finally finding the right balance. His wife Tara is about three month pregnant, and Roberta is thier mid-wife. Tara decides to bring thier baby girl into thier world right from thier bed at home. Mortenson has his child Amira Eliana Mortenson. This of course was one of Mortenson's happiest moments. Jean Hoerni was interested in when he could see a photo of the finished school as soon as possible. Mortenson said it would have to wait until he got to know his daughter a little more. After a few weeks Mortenson returned to Korphe where temperatures dropped really low but he promised Hoerni who is dying of cancer. Mortenson contemplates the idea of where to build his new school, and he thinks about travelling to the Hushe Valley. Mortenson uses his nurse skills to save a woman in the village who suffered complications in delivering her baby. The work for the school is finished December 10, 1996. Luckily he finishes just in time because when Mortenson returns back to the states with pictures for Hoerni, he is actually in the hospital in Idaho. Mortenson and his family go to visit. Jean had so many things he wanted to accomplish but he was so glad to see the school completed and tacked up the picture of teh school on the wall in his hospital room. Jean loved Mortenson like a son, and wanted to make sure that the CAI was taken care of. On New Years Day Jean was ready to go back to his apartment in Seattle; he was released under the medical supervision of Mortenson. All Hoerni wanted to do was send flowers to long lost friends, and after that he was ready to die. January 12, 1997 he died, and Mortenson gave the eulogy to friends and family one month later. In Chapter 15 Mortenson starts to discuss more about his future, and how his life as he knows it is speeding up. " Greg Mortenson felt that his life was speeding up. He had a house, a dog, a family, and before he'd left, he and Tara had disucssed having more children. He'd built one school been threatened by an eranged mullah, assembled an American board and scruffy Pakistani staff. He had fifty thousand dollars of CAI's money in his rucksack and more in the bank. The neglect and suffereing northern Pakistan's children endured towered as high as mountains encircling Skardu. With the fatwa dangling over hsi head like a scimitar, who knew how long he would be allowed to work in Pakistan? Now was the time to act with all the energy he could summon."
When asked the question "Which school will we build?" Mortenson replied "All of them."
May 8th 2010 Chapters 14 and 15 CONNECTOR:
http://www.midwiferytoday.com/conferences/
As you can see from the link midwives are still commonly used today, which I found surprising. I think from this link though that you will find midwives are more common in Europe than the United States. http://cfmidwifery.org/states/index.aspx
I wonder if the United STates isn't as into midwives as Europe because we are have not taken the steps to allow people to get a midwive liscense. Here in this link you can see what states are doing to allow women to do this, if they are already doing it, and how popular it may be.
May 12th, 2010 Chapters 16 SUMMARY:
Mortenson for the past chapter had been waiting for a letter from the highest Shiite religous council. It arrives to him in a red velvet box, and he gets the highest amount of gratitude from Syed Abbas and support. It states: "Dear Compassionate of the Poor,
Our Holy Karan tells us all children should reeive education, including our daughters and sisters. Your noble work follows the highest principles of Islma, to tend to the poor and sick. In the Koly Koran there is no law to prohibit an infidel from providing assistance to our Muslim brothers and sisters. Therefore," the decree concluded, "we direct all clerics in Pakistan to not interfere with your noble intentions. You have our permission, blessings, and prayers."
This proposes that he is supported by the people and can continue his great work. This ties into our essential question because when Mortenson arrived at first in Pakistan he was trying very hard to make his way, learn the religion and fit in and when Syed Abbas gave him the ruling and lucky for Mortenson the veto it proved his acceptance. Mortenson is being prasied all over Pakistan and everyone wants a school built for the children of their village. The leader of the Hushe Valley village asks for a school. The leader who requests the school has sons, and one daughter who he feels is very gifted. Shakeela is the daughter and when the school is built it changes the perspective of many of the villagers about girls and education. This is an important change and step for Mortenson and future girls in Pakistan. Mortenson realizes this importance and uses CAI to help fund enrollment for girls in schools. The CAI works on many other projects to better village life in Pakistan besides just building schools, he worked on the centers for women to practice their sewing and now Mortenson is providing water systems for villages and also hiring great teachers. Mortenson is on his way to becoming a great hero to the Pakistani people.
May 12th, 2010 Chapter 16 CONNECTION TO TODAY'S SOCIETY:
FATWA'S TODAY: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7046487.ece
This fatwa was issued by a prominent Muslim organization in Britain. A fatwa is a religous ruling and in the case of this fatwa they are stating that suicide bombers, and acts of terrorism are un-Islamic. The fatwa makes it very clear that suicide bombers are condemned to hell.
http://www.khamenei.de/fatwas/fatwas07.htm
Here is a list of 35 fatwas issued in Isreal. I was surprised to read some of the ones on thier and found a few of them quite ridiculous.
May 13th, 2010 Chapters 17 and 18 SUMMARY:
In this chapter we are introduced to a new character Fatima Batool and she describes some of the tough times they have been having with the Kargil Conflict since 1999 and all the fighting that has been occuring. Fatima tells us about the loss of her sister and the displacement of not only her family but other family. Families because of the fighting are haveing to be placed actually forced to camps on the outskirts of Skardu. The refugees unfortunately dont get any help from thier government or relief agencies and are Syed Abbas approaches with this problem to Mortenson asking him if he could provide the refugees also with resources and frreshwater. Morteonsn also decides to build a school. Mortenson when travelled back to Pakistan stays in a familitar place the Indus Hotel and he is approached by two men whom are from the Taliban. They invite Mortenson to a conversation. In the conversation the three men discuss the history of Muslims, Serbian Christians and the mass killings done by military. The discuss the history of the Pakistan land all the way back to 1971. They disucss the line of control that was set for either side not to cross. At the end of the chapter we learn that Fatima has reached 5th grade and she shares the stories of cherry trees which she recognized as a refugee in Skardu. I do not understand the importance of Fatima. What lesson is she teaching us, and how does she tie in two the story is what I am curious about? Mortenson wants to raise more funds for CAI, he was left a lot of money from Jean Hoerni but has been taking on so many projects some donations wouldn't be bad. He has trouble finding a target audience. His first appearance he sets up 200 hundred chairs but is only graced by the presence of a few people. Though one does leave 20,000 dollar check, and of course he finds more success. When he isn't travelling to the Middle East he lives in a home in Montana. Mortenson's company is getting frustrated with his disorganization and think he is falling ill too. Mortenson agrees to hire a therapist and also an assistant.
May 17th, 2010 Chapters 19 and 20 SUMMARY:
Mortenson is coming in contact with other groups, and Pakistan people building schools and trying to better the education of thier own children. He learns about the Wahhabi madrassa; in english it is known as a bee hive, but not literally a bee hive. It is a bee hive for students. Mortenson was surprised on how much construction Pakistan and the Afghan border had been undergoing. "I was amazed by all their new construction right here in the heart of Shiite Baltistan. For the first time I understand the scale of what they were trying to do and it scared me." Mortenson noticed that the curriculum being taught to the students was only Islamic based curriculum, Pakistan was hoping that by teaching thier students on Islamic-based curriculum that more than 80,000 young men would become Taliban recruits, and that 15 to 20 percent of them were getting military training. "Thinking about the Wahhabi strategy made my head spin. This wasn't just a few Arab sheikhs getting of Gulf Air flights with bags of cash. They wre bringing the brightest madrassa students back to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for a decade of indoctrination, then encouraging them to take four wives when they came home and breed like rabbits. Apo calling Wahhabi madrassas beehives in exactly right. They're churning out generation after generation of brainwashed students and thinking twenty, forty, even sixty years ahed to a time when their armjies of extremism will have the numbers to swar over Pakistan. and the rest of the Islamic world."
Mortenson sets out on September 9th to the village of Zuudkhan to look over some CAI funded projects taking place there. While travelling he learns that Ahmed Shah Moussoud was killed by Al Qaeda assassins. Mortenson foreshadows that this will lead to more trouble. They arrive at the village which is Mortenson's body guard Faisals home. Mortenson is welcomed with a enthusiastic crowd. It's now September 11th, 2001 and Faisal "has a look in his eyes that Mortenson had not recognized before it is fear. Faisal tells Mortenson that a village called New York has been attacked. Mortenson's is under lock down and seceruty is tightened. He is flown out of Zuudkhan. Mortenson is lucky enough to use a satellite phone with 40 minute battery to talk with his wife Tara who was expecting him home and this way Mortenson can check up on her, and learn more information. "I know you are with your second family and they will take care of you."
Mortenson and McCown who is a mountain climber Mortenson met in Korphe by accident and became a crucial supporter of Mortenson's projects and CAI learn bits of information about what is happening back in the states. McCown's wife Karen is a founder of the Chater school in the Bay Area and becomes a member of CAI's board of directors. When flown out of Zuudkhan Mortenson and McCown are flown to Kuardu for a school dedication. Thier Syed Abbas gives a heart felt speech about the tradgedy going on in America. From this he is hoping that Pakistani's are not percieved as terrorists but as individuals in poverty and need to be educated. "For this tradgedy, I humbly ask Mr. George and Dr. Greg Sahib for their forgiveness. All of you, my bretheren: Protect and embrace these two American brothers in our midst. Let no harm come to them. Share all you have to make their mission successful. These two Christian men have come halfway aroudn the world to show our Muslim children the light of education to our children. Why have we not been able to bring education to our children on our own? Fathers and parents, I implore you to dedicte your full effort and commitment to see that all your children are educated. Otherwise, they will merely graze like sheep in the fiel, at the mercy of nature and the world changing so terrfyingly around us. I request America to look into our hearts, and see that the great majority of us are not terrorists, but good and ismple people. Our land is strickent with poverty because we are without education. But today, another andle of knowledge has been lit. In the name of Allah the Almighty, may ot ;ogjt pir wau pit pf tj edarlmess we fomd pirse;ves om."
"It was an incredible speech." Mortenson says. "And by the time Syed Abbas had finished he had the entire crowd in tears. I wish all the Americans who think 'Muslim' is just another way of saying 'terrorist' could have been there that day. The ture core tneants of Islam are justice, tolerance, and charity, and Syed Abbas represented the moderate center of Muslim faith eloquently."
The next day Mortenson arrives back at Korphe because he always promised Haji Ali that he would stop in and have tea and check on everything. Mortenson realizes though that Haji Ali has died. Mortenson is struck by such news and makes it his goal in life to vow to continue to keep helping Pakistan children. Mortenson travels to a Marriot to catch a glimpse of the media circues after the horrific event of 9/11. In the restaurant at the Marriot Mortenson runs into a new character Kathy Gannon. KAthy Gannon is the press bureau chief stationed in Pakistan. Most reporters in Pakistan don't know about the reigon and like Syed Abbas said he didn't want people to do they make the assumption of associating Pakistan with terrorism. Kathy Gannon informs Mortenson that reports want an in to a great story through him. This is a great oppurtunity for Mortenson to tell his side of the story, and the experiences that he has come across, and the people while in Pakistan. Mortenson does grasp at this oppurtunity however the things he has to say do not make it into most of the stories. Mortenson wants to attempt to go into Afghanistan, however when the tries to cross the border the guards tear out a part of his passport making it invalid. The American Embassy in Islambad will not issue him a new one and he has to go to Nepal to visit the consulate, he is rewarded with a temporarty passport. He returns to Islambad even though it is a dangerous reigon he has to continue the projects he started. He returns briefly to Montana and finds a wonderful pile of hate mail from Americans who feel he is a traitor and can't find eye to eye in his work that he is doing to try and better the Pakistani people. People are unfortunately still ignorant and associate places like Pakistan and the middle east to terrorism. "I wish some of our bombs had hit you because you're counterproductive to our military efforts."
"Our Lord will see that you pay dearly for being a traiter, soon you will suffer more excrutiating pain than our brave soldiers."
Mortenson opened dozens of similar unsigned letters until he gecame too depressed to keep reading. "That night, for the first time since starting my work in Pakistan, I thought about quitting," he says. "I expected something like this from an ignorant willage mullah, but to get those kinds of letters from my fellow Ameriucans made me wonder whether I should just give up."
On the bright side he recieves a few letters of appreciation. Now that he is back in the states he is welcomed into a fundraiser for the CAI supporting his work. Mortenson is still creating history, him as the individual is changing views on terrorism. "I've met a lot of people in my life but no one like Greg Mortenson."
Research for CHAPTERS 19 and 20:
Ahmad Shah Massoud: This is the tomb of Massoud. At the age of 48 he was the target of a sucessful suicide bomber by Al Qeada assassins. The assassins claimed they wanted to interview Massoud, and they also claimed that their ethnic identity was Belgian. When interviewing him they had hidden a bomb in the camera, setting it off instantly killed Ahmad Shah Massoud. The news was reported immediatly on BBC and in newspapers, but his death was overshadowed by 9/11 attacks. He left the legacy of being "Hero of Afghan Nation", and lead a five year resistance against the Taliban.
"Our policy was always to have a good and friendly realtions with everyone. But we never have accepted being oppressed and we will never accept it."
May 19, 2010 CHAPTERS 21 and 22 and 23 SUMMARY:
Mortenson is once again back in Pakistan. We have learned throughout the book about the history of the Taliban and the supression of the Afghan people, though the fight is now over Mortenson can't help but think about all the civilian casualties. Mortenson would spend his nights lying next to Tara tyring to put the images of civlian casualties out of hsi mind and fall back asleep. But he knew that many of the civilians under America's bomb sights were children who had attended CAI sponsored classes. Mortenson starts setting up speaking engagements, and has nervouse butterflies about speaking in front of the large crowds. Mortenson is intrigued with a woman by the name of Mary Bono, she is in her 30's, Mortenson finds her attractive, and is wearing jeans, sweatshirt, and a baseball cap while listening to Mortenson's speech very intensely. Mary Bono is a Republican from Palm Springs and tells Mortenson that his speeches are very informative and from the hour he has been taking she has learned way more than in all her briefings. Bono gives Mortenson the chance to come and speak in Washington when Congross is back in session. February 2002 Mortenson arrives back in Islamabad. The city school sin Kabul had been damaged by bombs much like everything else. Mortenson took a trip down there to see how things were going with the schools. Only 20% of the 159 schools were functional enough to hold classes. Mortenson realized this was going to be a struggle, he would have to accomadate all 300,000 students by having classes in shifts, some outdoors, and if needed have classes in buildings that were shattered to pieces. In once school Uzra Faizad the principal is going to try and accomodate 4.500 students with only 90 teachers. "I was just overwhelmed listening to Uzra's Story. Here was this strong, proud woman trying to do the impossible. Her school's boundary wall had been blown to rubble. The roof had fallen in. Still, she was coming to work every day and putting the place back together because she was passionate about education being the only way to solve Afghanistans's problems."
He left Kabul and went to Peshwar where problems seemed more managable. But in the Shamshatoo Camp Mortenson was seeing the same haunted and tragic looks on this children, similar to the ones in Afghaistan. Mortenson taked to one boy Ahmed who said that his father had been killed by an American missle. Mortenson was sure teh boy was suffereing from shock. Moretnson later learned that a group of thugs asembled by Agha Mubarek on of the northern Pakistan's most powreful village mullash had attacked their newest project, a coed school that they had nearly compled n the villagte of Hemasil. The thugs tried to set it on fire. It didn't burn because the wood beams hadn't yet been put in, but the thugs swung at it with sledge hammers bringing the walls down. It became a pile of rubble. He arrived to check the school area and was issued a fatwa saying he was no longer allowed to work in Pakistan.
Kevin Fardarko is a reporter for Outside and he quits his job in the office in favor of working in the field that accompanies Mortenson to a meeting in Korphe. Fedarko was accompanying Mortenson to get the inside scoop on the nineteen years of fighting. This story for Fedarko was something a rare amount of journailsts got to experience. Fedarko got the pleasure of seeing the story from both sides of the conflict. "Greg bent over backword to help me... I had no connections in Pakistan and couldn't have done it by myself."
There was a meeting being held and everyone was so excited to see Greg. People crammed in everywhere they could fit to get a glimpse of Greg.
Another fatwa was issued onto Greg; it is issued by a Pakistani cleric, and it is a threat against one of Greg's schools. The case goes against the Muslim conservative court, and not only is it lifted but the cleric is ordered to pay the damges to the school. Mortenson is yet again going off to a new place to fufill a promise to the chief. Mortenson is good on his promises. On his way he meets an Afghan King and they discuss how Afghanistan used ot get attention from the Americans but now all attention has turned to the war in Iraq.
May 19, 2010 CHAPTERS 21 and 22 and 23 RESEARCH: GREG MORTENSON TODAY?
After finishing the best seller Three Cups of Tea Greg Mortenson wrote a second book called Stones into Schools Promoting Peace with Books not Bombs n Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mortenson new at the end of this book that he would have many more projects he needed to accomplish, and he was right. Stones into Schools brings to life both the heroic efforts of the CAI's fixers on the ground - renegade men of unrecognized talent who became important by through the process of bettering girls educations. This book centers aroudn the greatness of his first book, but he also speaks alot about the relationshipes he built with the children. And that children can chnage the world if you pay attention. In his personal life Mortenson now has two children, and is still married to Tara and has a home in Montana.
Amanda Reading Homework
May 4th, 2010 HOMEWORK: Chapters 1 through 6 SUMMARY:
For the first 2 Chapters Greg Mortenson takes us through the harsh terrain and extreme measures he goes through while trying to climb K2. We learn about his Minnesota born prents who were Lutheran missionairies and teachers. Greg Mortenson had a younger sister, who he was 12 years senior to and her name was Christa. Unfortunatley, Christa contracted acute meningitis and never fully revovered. As her older brother Greg protected her, helped her preform simple tasks, and tried to give her an ounce of independence. Greg Mortenson lived a busy life of aiding others, he was a U.S. Army medic/plantoon leader in Germany, was striving for a nursing degree, studied the neurophysiology of epilepsy at graduate school to find a cure for Christa, or climbing mountains. When Christa died of a massive seizure he took his sister's necklace and he wanted to bring it to the top of K2 (28, 267 feet). On his climb unfortunatley he had to help a climber that fell ill, and take him back down the mountain to safety this put a damper on his palns and he was to tired to climb back up the mountain. When loosing his sense of direction while trying to make his way down the mountain he ended up in the village of Korphe. He promised to the gracious people "I will build you a school" by the end of Chapter 3. In Chapter 4 Mortenson is making his way back to Berkely California imagining the endless possibilities of how he is goign to raise money for the school. We learn more of his parents, how they fell in love, what they were like in school, there travels, interests and you can clearly see how similiar he is to his parents. Greg continued to work as a nurse like before and he met a women Marina whom he started dating. He returned to Pakistan and started creating "miracles".
May 4th, 2010 HOMEWORK: Chapters 7 and 8 SUMMARY:
Greg Mortenson stuck to his guns when he went back to America, made a plan and budgeted himself in order to get the tools for the school. Though he was worried about how slowly their progress was because it took all day for the gear, tools, and supplies to get loaded into the truck. A mob of people surronded Greg Mortenson and his truck, but even with the hustle and bustle Abdul who has been helping Mortenson takes the time to give him a safe journey prayer. Greg Mortenson sets out from Rawalpindi to Skardu. Mortenson feels sucessful about what he has accomplished thus far, but is concerned about the rest of the work to be done and the money he is going to use. Though most of the time Mortenson doesn't feel in danger while in Pakistan, he still knows that there is a threat out there. The next day when the truck is still proceedeing to Skardu he and his truck drivier are stopped in the night by a local gunmen and the Pakistan army. Mortenson arrives at the village feeling that success is ahead. He realizes though that he is going to have to keep his supplies in Skardu until he can make transportation means to Korphe. Mortenson finds himself the center of a dispute when villagers are not wanting the school to be built in Korphe but where he is now, and there are two very different ideas about the school, how it should be built and what it should entail. The dispute through the night while enjoying a meal "feast" that was supposed to impress Mortenson. Mortenson is unhappy with the way Changzai is treating him. Changzai is campaigning for a school when Mortenson already promised a school to the villagers in Korphe. Mortenson is stunned when he arrives in Korphe and given the task to build a bridge before he can construct the school. He has to do this before he can continue or they wont transport the supplies he worked hard for.
May 4th, 2010 HOMEOWRK: Chapters 7 and 8 PASSAGE MASTER:
" As Mortenson climbed down to bid Abdul goodbye the crowd pressed in on him, offering him cigarettes and handfuls of bettered rupee notes for his school.... Despite the noise and frenzy, Abdul stood perfectly still at the center of the crowd, performing a dua, a prayer for a safe journey." (PAGE 73)
I choose this passage because it showed the appreciation that other individuals had for Greg Mortenson who were just able to play a small part in the building of the school. They were wishing him well and hoped he was successful.
" It was cool and windy on top of the truck," Mortenson remembers. "And I hadn't been cool since I arrived in Rawalpindi. I felt like a king, riding high on my throne. And I felt I'd already succeeded. I was sitting on top of my school. OI'd bought everything we needed and stuck to my budget. Not eve Jean Hoerni could fin dfalut with anything I'd done. And in a few weeks, I thought, the school would be built, and I could head home and figure out what to do with the rest of my life. I don't know if I've ever felt so satisfied." (PAGE 74)
I choose this passage because we start to see a sense of pride, success, determenation in Greg Mortenson, and he knows that he is going to do more great things. Building this school is just one chapter in his life, and he is already lookign forward to the next great thing he will do. He made goals, plans, and a budget stuck to it and now is getting tremendous results. This links into our essential question showing us that Greg Mortenson is the individual making great history. He made plans then went back to Berkely, California in the states to execute them, and now he is back in Pakistan building a school like he promised.
" A decade later, in the post 9/11 era, Mortenson would often be asked by Americans about the danger he faced in the reigion from terrorits." " If I died in Pakistan, it'll be because of a traffic accident, not a bomb or bullet," he'd alays tell them. "The real danger over there is on the road." (PAGE 81)
I choose this passage because it made me feel humbled by Mortenson. He wasn't living by any other stero type people may put on the whole country of Pakistan because of events taht may have happened in the past. He is going by fact of what he knows, by learning the culture, and experienceing it first hand. He has met the children, the mothers, the fathers, and the grateful people and is being realistic to who they are. They aren't bad people, and you could say that about any country that may be pegged as having terrorists come out of it.
May 6th, 2010 HOMEWORK: Chapters 9 and 10 SUMMARY:
Mortenson had run into a speed bump in the village, and then returned to San Fransico hoping to return to his loved ones, but most of all Marina. It came to a dissapointment when Marina gave him disheartening news; she had been dating Mario from the ER, and booked Greg Mortenson a hotel room. With that Mortenson is fired from his job because he was supposed to work Thanksgiving but he missed not only Thanksgiving by Christmas. Before Mortenson left Korphe he was determined that he needed to learn everything that went into the bridge. Back in the states Mortenson is really upset over Marina, unlike any other break up he has experienced. Mortenson only has 83 dollars in his bank account, and is running out of options. He finds a job that he thinks is quite depressing. Mortenson is mugged on the streets where he only has 2 dollars, the kids laugh at how poor he is, leaving Mortenson feeling ashamed. He absolutley has to raise money for the bridge but doesn't know how, and is to intimidated to call Jean Hoerni. Luckliy he recieves an unexpected phone call from a fellow, and legendary climber Dr. Louis Reichardt who is one of the first Americans to reach the summit of K2. He asks for advice about the mountain climb. Reichardt had heard about Mortenson's school project and asks him how it is turning out. Mortenson informs him of the situation he is in, and feels another sense of failure within himself. Reichardt informs Mortenson that he is attempitng something far more difficult than climbing a mountain. Dr. Louis Reichardt encourages Mortenson to call Hoerni because he can afford the bridge. Mortenson then feels another sense of self confidence, and calls Hoerni. After Mortenson pucked up the courage to make the phone call to Hoerni he recieved an additional 100,000 dollars to his job. Mortenson returns back to PAkistan and despite their rough history hires Changazi because his skills are just to precious not to have. Through the process of carrying the supplies to where needed, Mortenson learns about Changazi's many sexual partners, which leads Mortenson to learning about the culture in Pakistan when it comes to sex from Twaha. Twaha is not married but sometimes has sex with widowed women in the village. The weather is uncooperative with Mortenson and teh rainy season sets in, and makes the team have to wait to pour concrete for the bridge. All the men embark on a hunting trip, Housessin the most intelligent man in the village slaughters an animal leaving Mortenson with the idea that he should be a teacher in the school. The weather lightens up, and the bridge work starts up. Mortenson is supervising and is pleased with himself and the Balti people. We run into George McCown, who is wealthy and a notable climber. Mortenson will find support from him, and the American party that came to help with the bridge. At the end of the chapter the bridge is completed.
May 6th, 2010: Chapters 9 and 10 PASSAGE MASTER:
" Telling me all about the pricing of roof materials, and, oh, how much it cost to rent a truck to Skardu. They were very romantic. You never said anything about us, except to keep pushing back the date you'd be home..... I could tell from your postcards that I didn't exist for you once you left." (PAGE 100-101)
I choose this passage because it showed how dedicated Mortenson was to his work, and that once he started a project he really got consumed in it, and the people he was trying to help.
" Some merciful nights, Mortenson was able to lose himself and his worries in the whirl of activity. Confronted with teh immediate needs of a fiver-year-old child with third-degree burns across half her torso, it was impossibel to wallow in self-pity. And there was a deep satisfaction he could find in working swiftly, and alleviating pain, in a well equipped WEstern hospital, where every medication, machine, and dressing necessary was on hand, rather than eight hours away down a frequently impassable jeep track, as had been the case during the sevens weeks he'd lingered in Korphe. " (PAGE 102)
I choose thsi passage because I felt that is said alot about Mortenson's character. It tied into our essential question I thought because the history Mortenson is experiencing is causing him to change his views, and think differently. He is becomeing a true worthy, selfless, driven human being.
" But now, every time he opend his mouth, his stories were about failures: a summit not reached, a woman lost, a bridge, and a school, not built. One night, walking home very late after work, Mortenson was mugged across the street from his house by four boys who couldn't have been older than fourteen. While one held a pistol aimed shakily at Mortenson's chest, his accomplice emptied Mortenson's pockets. " Sheeyit. Bitch ain't got but two dollars," the boy said, pocketing the bills and handing Mortenson back his empty wallet. " Why we got to jumpt the most broke- down white dude in Berkeley?" Broke. Broke down. Broken. Into the spring, Mortenson wallowed in his depression. He pictured the hopeful faces of the Korphe men when they'd put him on a bus to Islamabad, sure, Inshallah, that he'd be back soon with money. How could they have so much faith in him when he had so little in himself."
(PAGE 105)
I choose this passage because I really just liked the way it was written. I thought the story was a perfect addition to give you a sense of the failure that Mortenson was feeling. The lowest of the low.
" Consequently, Changazi had protein bars with German labels tucked into every crevice of his office, like a squirrel's winter hoard of nuts. And behind his desk, a case of a Japnese sports drink called Pakhari SWeat propped up half a dozen bozes of biscotti."
I choose this passage because I found humor in it, and was surprised.
May 7th, 2010 Chapters 11 and 12 and 13 SUMMARY:
" Mortenson felt something that had been in short supply ever since that evening he'd dropped the bottle of Baileys liqueur into the trash can at the Beach Motel - happiness." Mortenson found a job in a hospital at a nurses station. He spent his night attending to a 12 year old boy whose stepfather pressed his hands to a stove. Mortenson realized that he didn't need to travel to the other side of the world to feel useful. He was helping out whoever he could in the states. He had a lot of quiet nights at the hospital, but each shift just meant that he could put more money in his account and soon return to Korphe and resume construction for the school. He was again living in his rented room at Witold Dudzinski, a small room. Mortenson bumps into Marina when walking home from his shift, and she tells him that Mario was a big mistake and that she misses Mortenson. Mortenson later goes off to Seattle to get in contact with Jean Hoerni where they finally meet in person. Hoerni is so excited about the project that Mortenson has been working on. Hoerni and McCown work wonders for Mortenson when they all meet together. They both agree to fund Mortenson financially by aiding him with 20,000 dollars, and they also invite Mortenson to American Himalayan Foundation dinner where Mortenson's hero Sir Edmund Hero will be the guest speaker. At the dinner Morteson is inspired by Hillary's own means to create schools and clinics and Nepal. Mortenson meets Tara Bishop who Mortenson feels an immediate attraction with, and they spend a night together conversing about their lives. Six days later, Mortenson and Bishop marry at the Oakland City Hall. Mortenson spends two weeks with Tara by post poning his trip to Korphe. He then boards a plane. Mortenson arrives at Skardu unable to get in contact with Changazi because he has gone on a trip to Pindi and will be back in one to two months. They ask Mortenson to come back then, he is unsure. An older man by the name of Parvi was an accountant. and obtained a business degree from University of Karachi. Parvi was going to help Mortenson locate his materials. They found the materials in a abandoned hotel, 1/3 of the materials are missing, but Mortenson has enough to bring to Korphe thankfully. He expects that prepartions should be rather far along, however he is dissappointed to find that he is nowhere near where he wants to be. Mortenson arrives back to America to spend Thanksgiving with Tara and Hoerni. Hoerni has been so exicted about the project Mortenson is working on that he decides that he wants to create Central Asia Insitute and wants Mortenson to be the director. The goal of the foundation is to build a school every year. While back in the states Mortenson learns that Tara is pregnant. The family moves to Bozeman, Montana so Tara can be close to family. In Korphe, Mortenson is not happy with how fast production is going on the school. Haji informs in that Mortenson must learn to live by the pace of the Balti people for things to get done, and that his Western impatience is driving everyone crazy. Everyone is so extatic that the children of the village will be getting a finer education.
May 7th, 2010 Chapters 11 and 12, and 13 CONNECTOR:
http://www.freedomwritersfoundation.org/site/c.kqIXL2PFJtH/b.5183373/k.DD8B/FWF_Home.htm
Freedom Writers Foundation is one similar to the CAI.
"It's time to publicly and systematically promote an educational philosophy that honors diversity in the classroom. It's time to give students the opportunity to reach their full potential and aspire to higher education. It's time to remind them that they can deeply impact their communities and the world. The Freedom Writers Foundation believes the time has come. And by empowering students and teachers alike through outreach, curriculum, and scholarships, the time is now."
May 8th, 2010 Chapters 14 and 15 SUMMARY:
Mortenson is back in his home in Bozema, Montana. He is proud of the home and family he has created. He is finally finding the right balance. His wife Tara is about three month pregnant, and Roberta is thier mid-wife. Tara decides to bring thier baby girl into thier world right from thier bed at home. Mortenson has his child Amira Eliana Mortenson. This of course was one of Mortenson's happiest moments. Jean Hoerni was interested in when he could see a photo of the finished school as soon as possible. Mortenson said it would have to wait until he got to know his daughter a little more. After a few weeks Mortenson returned to Korphe where temperatures dropped really low but he promised Hoerni who is dying of cancer. Mortenson contemplates the idea of where to build his new school, and he thinks about travelling to the Hushe Valley. Mortenson uses his nurse skills to save a woman in the village who suffered complications in delivering her baby. The work for the school is finished December 10, 1996. Luckily he finishes just in time because when Mortenson returns back to the states with pictures for Hoerni, he is actually in the hospital in Idaho. Mortenson and his family go to visit. Jean had so many things he wanted to accomplish but he was so glad to see the school completed and tacked up the picture of teh school on the wall in his hospital room. Jean loved Mortenson like a son, and wanted to make sure that the CAI was taken care of. On New Years Day Jean was ready to go back to his apartment in Seattle; he was released under the medical supervision of Mortenson. All Hoerni wanted to do was send flowers to long lost friends, and after that he was ready to die. January 12, 1997 he died, and Mortenson gave the eulogy to friends and family one month later. In Chapter 15 Mortenson starts to discuss more about his future, and how his life as he knows it is speeding up. " Greg Mortenson felt that his life was speeding up. He had a house, a dog, a family, and before he'd left, he and Tara had disucssed having more children. He'd built one school been threatened by an eranged mullah, assembled an American board and scruffy Pakistani staff. He had fifty thousand dollars of CAI's money in his rucksack and more in the bank. The neglect and suffereing northern Pakistan's children endured towered as high as mountains encircling Skardu. With the fatwa dangling over hsi head like a scimitar, who knew how long he would be allowed to work in Pakistan? Now was the time to act with all the energy he could summon."
When asked the question "Which school will we build?" Mortenson replied "All of them."
May 8th 2010 Chapters 14 and 15 CONNECTOR:
http://www.midwiferytoday.com/conferences/
As you can see from the link midwives are still commonly used today, which I found surprising. I think from this link though that you will find midwives are more common in Europe than the United States.
http://cfmidwifery.org/states/index.aspx
I wonder if the United STates isn't as into midwives as Europe because we are have not taken the steps to allow people to get a midwive liscense. Here in this link you can see what states are doing to allow women to do this, if they are already doing it, and how popular it may be.
May 12th, 2010 Chapters 16 SUMMARY:
Mortenson for the past chapter had been waiting for a letter from the highest Shiite religous council. It arrives to him in a red velvet box, and he gets the highest amount of gratitude from Syed Abbas and support. It states:
"Dear Compassionate of the Poor,
Our Holy Karan tells us all children should reeive education, including our daughters and sisters. Your noble work follows the highest principles of Islma, to tend to the poor and sick. In the Koly Koran there is no law to prohibit an infidel from providing assistance to our Muslim brothers and sisters. Therefore," the decree concluded, "we direct all clerics in Pakistan to not interfere with your noble intentions. You have our permission, blessings, and prayers."
This proposes that he is supported by the people and can continue his great work. This ties into our essential question because when Mortenson arrived at first in Pakistan he was trying very hard to make his way, learn the religion and fit in and when Syed Abbas gave him the ruling and lucky for Mortenson the veto it proved his acceptance. Mortenson is being prasied all over Pakistan and everyone wants a school built for the children of their village. The leader of the Hushe Valley village asks for a school. The leader who requests the school has sons, and one daughter who he feels is very gifted. Shakeela is the daughter and when the school is built it changes the perspective of many of the villagers about girls and education. This is an important change and step for Mortenson and future girls in Pakistan. Mortenson realizes this importance and uses CAI to help fund enrollment for girls in schools. The CAI works on many other projects to better village life in Pakistan besides just building schools, he worked on the centers for women to practice their sewing and now Mortenson is providing water systems for villages and also hiring great teachers. Mortenson is on his way to becoming a great hero to the Pakistani people.
May 12th, 2010 Chapter 16 CONNECTION TO TODAY'S SOCIETY:
FATWA'S TODAY:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7046487.ece
This fatwa was issued by a prominent Muslim organization in Britain. A fatwa is a religous ruling and in the case of this fatwa they are stating that suicide bombers, and acts of terrorism are un-Islamic. The fatwa makes it very clear that suicide bombers are condemned to hell.
http://www.khamenei.de/fatwas/fatwas07.htm
Here is a list of 35 fatwas issued in Isreal. I was surprised to read some of the ones on thier and found a few of them quite ridiculous.
May 13th, 2010 Chapters 17 and 18 SUMMARY:
In this chapter we are introduced to a new character Fatima Batool and she describes some of the tough times they have been having with the Kargil Conflict since 1999 and all the fighting that has been occuring. Fatima tells us about the loss of her sister and the displacement of not only her family but other family. Families because of the fighting are haveing to be placed actually forced to camps on the outskirts of Skardu. The refugees unfortunately dont get any help from thier government or relief agencies and are Syed Abbas approaches with this problem to Mortenson asking him if he could provide the refugees also with resources and frreshwater. Morteonsn also decides to build a school. Mortenson when travelled back to Pakistan stays in a familitar place the Indus Hotel and he is approached by two men whom are from the Taliban. They invite Mortenson to a conversation. In the conversation the three men discuss the history of Muslims, Serbian Christians and the mass killings done by military. The discuss the history of the Pakistan land all the way back to 1971. They disucss the line of control that was set for either side not to cross. At the end of the chapter we learn that Fatima has reached 5th grade and she shares the stories of cherry trees which she recognized as a refugee in Skardu. I do not understand the importance of Fatima. What lesson is she teaching us, and how does she tie in two the story is what I am curious about? Mortenson wants to raise more funds for CAI, he was left a lot of money from Jean Hoerni but has been taking on so many projects some donations wouldn't be bad. He has trouble finding a target audience. His first appearance he sets up 200 hundred chairs but is only graced by the presence of a few people. Though one does leave 20,000 dollar check, and of course he finds more success. When he isn't travelling to the Middle East he lives in a home in Montana. Mortenson's company is getting frustrated with his disorganization and think he is falling ill too. Mortenson agrees to hire a therapist and also an assistant.
May 13th, 2010 Chapters 17 and 18 RESEARCHER:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/kargil-99.htm
May 17th, 2010 Chapters 19 and 20 SUMMARY:
Mortenson is coming in contact with other groups, and Pakistan people building schools and trying to better the education of thier own children. He learns about the Wahhabi madrassa; in english it is known as a bee hive, but not literally a bee hive. It is a bee hive for students. Mortenson was surprised on how much construction Pakistan and the Afghan border had been undergoing.
"I was amazed by all their new construction right here in the heart of Shiite Baltistan. For the first time I understand the scale of what they were trying to do and it scared me." Mortenson noticed that the curriculum being taught to the students was only Islamic based curriculum, Pakistan was hoping that by teaching thier students on Islamic-based curriculum that more than 80,000 young men would become Taliban recruits, and that 15 to 20 percent of them were getting military training.
"Thinking about the Wahhabi strategy made my head spin. This wasn't just a few Arab sheikhs getting of Gulf Air flights with bags of cash. They wre bringing the brightest madrassa students back to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for a decade of indoctrination, then encouraging them to take four wives when they came home and breed like rabbits. Apo calling Wahhabi madrassas beehives in exactly right. They're churning out generation after generation of brainwashed students and thinking twenty, forty, even sixty years ahed to a time when their armjies of extremism will have the numbers to swar over Pakistan. and the rest of the Islamic world."
Mortenson sets out on September 9th to the village of Zuudkhan to look over some CAI funded projects taking place there. While travelling he learns that Ahmed Shah Moussoud was killed by Al Qaeda assassins. Mortenson foreshadows that this will lead to more trouble. They arrive at the village which is Mortenson's body guard Faisals home. Mortenson is welcomed with a enthusiastic crowd. It's now September 11th, 2001 and Faisal "has a look in his eyes that Mortenson had not recognized before it is fear. Faisal tells Mortenson that a village called New York has been attacked. Mortenson's is under lock down and seceruty is tightened. He is flown out of Zuudkhan. Mortenson is lucky enough to use a satellite phone with 40 minute battery to talk with his wife Tara who was expecting him home and this way Mortenson can check up on her, and learn more information.
"I know you are with your second family and they will take care of you."
Mortenson and McCown who is a mountain climber Mortenson met in Korphe by accident and became a crucial supporter of Mortenson's projects and CAI learn bits of information about what is happening back in the states. McCown's wife Karen is a founder of the Chater school in the Bay Area and becomes a member of CAI's board of directors. When flown out of Zuudkhan Mortenson and McCown are flown to Kuardu for a school dedication. Thier Syed Abbas gives a heart felt speech about the tradgedy going on in America. From this he is hoping that Pakistani's are not percieved as terrorists but as individuals in poverty and need to be educated.
"For this tradgedy, I humbly ask Mr. George and Dr. Greg Sahib for their forgiveness. All of you, my bretheren: Protect and embrace these two American brothers in our midst. Let no harm come to them. Share all you have to make their mission successful. These two Christian men have come halfway aroudn the world to show our Muslim children the light of education to our children. Why have we not been able to bring education to our children on our own? Fathers and parents, I implore you to dedicte your full effort and commitment to see that all your children are educated. Otherwise, they will merely graze like sheep in the fiel, at the mercy of nature and the world changing so terrfyingly around us. I request America to look into our hearts, and see that the great majority of us are not terrorists, but good and ismple people. Our land is strickent with poverty because we are without education. But today, another andle of knowledge has been lit. In the name of Allah the Almighty, may ot ;ogjt pir wau pit pf tj edarlmess we fomd pirse;ves om."
"It was an incredible speech." Mortenson says. "And by the time Syed Abbas had finished he had the entire crowd in tears. I wish all the Americans who think 'Muslim' is just another way of saying 'terrorist' could have been there that day. The ture core tneants of Islam are justice, tolerance, and charity, and Syed Abbas represented the moderate center of Muslim faith eloquently."
The next day Mortenson arrives back at Korphe because he always promised Haji Ali that he would stop in and have tea and check on everything. Mortenson realizes though that Haji Ali has died. Mortenson is struck by such news and makes it his goal in life to vow to continue to keep helping Pakistan children. Mortenson travels to a Marriot to catch a glimpse of the media circues after the horrific event of 9/11. In the restaurant at the Marriot Mortenson runs into a new character Kathy Gannon. KAthy Gannon is the press bureau chief stationed in Pakistan. Most reporters in Pakistan don't know about the reigon and like Syed Abbas said he didn't want people to do they make the assumption of associating Pakistan with terrorism. Kathy Gannon informs Mortenson that reports want an in to a great story through him. This is a great oppurtunity for Mortenson to tell his side of the story, and the experiences that he has come across, and the people while in Pakistan. Mortenson does grasp at this oppurtunity however the things he has to say do not make it into most of the stories. Mortenson wants to attempt to go into Afghanistan, however when the tries to cross the border the guards tear out a part of his passport making it invalid. The American Embassy in Islambad will not issue him a new one and he has to go to Nepal to visit the consulate, he is rewarded with a temporarty passport. He returns to Islambad even though it is a dangerous reigon he has to continue the projects he started. He returns briefly to Montana and finds a wonderful pile of hate mail from Americans who feel he is a traitor and can't find eye to eye in his work that he is doing to try and better the Pakistani people. People are unfortunately still ignorant and associate places like Pakistan and the middle east to terrorism.
"I wish some of our bombs had hit you because you're counterproductive to our military efforts."
"Our Lord will see that you pay dearly for being a traiter, soon you will suffer more excrutiating pain than our brave soldiers."
Mortenson opened dozens of similar unsigned letters until he gecame too depressed to keep reading. "That night, for the first time since starting my work in Pakistan, I thought about quitting," he says. "I expected something like this from an ignorant willage mullah, but to get those kinds of letters from my fellow Ameriucans made me wonder whether I should just give up."
On the bright side he recieves a few letters of appreciation. Now that he is back in the states he is welcomed into a fundraiser for the CAI supporting his work. Mortenson is still creating history, him as the individual is changing views on terrorism.
"I've met a lot of people in my life but no one like Greg Mortenson."
Research for CHAPTERS 19 and 20:
Ahmad Shah Massoud: This is the tomb of Massoud. At the age of 48 he was the target of a sucessful suicide bomber by Al Qeada assassins. The assassins claimed they wanted to interview Massoud, and they also claimed that their ethnic identity was Belgian. When interviewing him they had hidden a bomb in the camera, setting it off instantly killed Ahmad Shah Massoud. The news was reported immediatly on BBC and in newspapers, but his death was overshadowed by 9/11 attacks. He left the legacy of being "Hero of Afghan Nation", and lead a five year resistance against the Taliban.
"Our policy was always to have a good and friendly realtions with everyone. But we never have accepted being oppressed and we will never accept it."
May 19, 2010 CHAPTERS 21 and 22 and 23 SUMMARY:
Mortenson is once again back in Pakistan. We have learned throughout the book about the history of the Taliban and the supression of the Afghan people, though the fight is now over Mortenson can't help but think about all the civilian casualties. Mortenson would spend his nights lying next to Tara tyring to put the images of civlian casualties out of hsi mind and fall back asleep. But he knew that many of the civilians under America's bomb sights were children who had attended CAI sponsored classes. Mortenson starts setting up speaking engagements, and has nervouse butterflies about speaking in front of the large crowds. Mortenson is intrigued with a woman by the name of Mary Bono, she is in her 30's, Mortenson finds her attractive, and is wearing jeans, sweatshirt, and a baseball cap while listening to Mortenson's speech very intensely. Mary Bono is a Republican from Palm Springs and tells Mortenson that his speeches are very informative and from the hour he has been taking she has learned way more than in all her briefings. Bono gives Mortenson the chance to come and speak in Washington when Congross is back in session. February 2002 Mortenson arrives back in Islamabad. The city school sin Kabul had been damaged by bombs much like everything else. Mortenson took a trip down there to see how things were going with the schools. Only 20% of the 159 schools were functional enough to hold classes. Mortenson realized this was going to be a struggle, he would have to accomadate all 300,000 students by having classes in shifts, some outdoors, and if needed have classes in buildings that were shattered to pieces. In once school Uzra Faizad the principal is going to try and accomodate 4.500 students with only 90 teachers.
"I was just overwhelmed listening to Uzra's Story. Here was this strong, proud woman trying to do the impossible. Her school's boundary wall had been blown to rubble. The roof had fallen in. Still, she was coming to work every day and putting the place back together because she was passionate about education being the only way to solve Afghanistans's problems."
He left Kabul and went to Peshwar where problems seemed more managable. But in the Shamshatoo Camp Mortenson was seeing the same haunted and tragic looks on this children, similar to the ones in Afghaistan. Mortenson taked to one boy Ahmed who said that his father had been killed by an American missle. Mortenson was sure teh boy was suffereing from shock. Moretnson later learned that a group of thugs asembled by Agha Mubarek on of the northern Pakistan's most powreful village mullash had attacked their newest project, a coed school that they had nearly compled n the villagte of Hemasil. The thugs tried to set it on fire. It didn't burn because the wood beams hadn't yet been put in, but the thugs swung at it with sledge hammers bringing the walls down. It became a pile of rubble. He arrived to check the school area and was issued a fatwa saying he was no longer allowed to work in Pakistan.
Kevin Fardarko is a reporter for Outside and he quits his job in the office in favor of working in the field that accompanies Mortenson to a meeting in Korphe. Fedarko was accompanying Mortenson to get the inside scoop on the nineteen years of fighting. This story for Fedarko was something a rare amount of journailsts got to experience. Fedarko got the pleasure of seeing the story from both sides of the conflict.
"Greg bent over backword to help me... I had no connections in Pakistan and couldn't have done it by myself."
There was a meeting being held and everyone was so excited to see Greg. People crammed in everywhere they could fit to get a glimpse of Greg.
Another fatwa was issued onto Greg; it is issued by a Pakistani cleric, and it is a threat against one of Greg's schools. The case goes against the Muslim conservative court, and not only is it lifted but the cleric is ordered to pay the damges to the school. Mortenson is yet again going off to a new place to fufill a promise to the chief. Mortenson is good on his promises. On his way he meets an Afghan King and they discuss how Afghanistan used ot get attention from the Americans but now all attention has turned to the war in Iraq.
May 19, 2010 CHAPTERS 21 and 22 and 23 RESEARCH:
GREG MORTENSON TODAY?
After finishing the best seller Three Cups of Tea Greg Mortenson wrote a second book called Stones into Schools Promoting Peace with Books not Bombs n Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mortenson new at the end of this book that he would have many more projects he needed to accomplish, and he was right. Stones into Schools brings to life both the heroic efforts of the CAI's fixers on the ground - renegade men of unrecognized talent who became important by through the process of bettering girls educations. This book centers aroudn the greatness of his first book, but he also speaks alot about the relationshipes he built with the children. And that children can chnage the world if you pay attention. In his personal life Mortenson now has two children, and is still married to Tara and has a home in Montana.